The Lords of Grimm
by Super Comrade
Summary: The world Remnant was in peril, even if not all of them knew it. A threat of Salem loomed in the shadows, but Ozpin and his students were there to stop it. However, there is another threat on the horizon, someone as ancient and deadly as Salem herself. And someone who shares something similar to her. This new burden may just overwhelm the heroes of Remnant.
1. 1 Old Enemies, New Friends

The Lords of Grimm

**AN: Hello, my dear readers! This was an idea I had in my mind for a while now. And unlike my other stories, this one isn't a crossover. This time I'm taking a shot at the RWBY fandom. I sincerely hope that the premise is good enough to pique your interest.**

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1 Old Enemies, New Friends

Within regions untouched by civilization, stood a high mountain surrounded by a vast forest. The mountain was there since the time of the first humanity, during the time where magic was prevalent and not considered a fairy tale, the time where the Brothers were still present in the world, where mighty kingdoms once stood before collapsing.

For eons it stood there, untouched by human or faunus hands, passing through the great purge of humanity, the appearance of Aura and development of technology, undisturbed by the passage of time to the present-day where the kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas ruled.

During one sunny day, a small raven stood atop one of the rocky protrusions on the mountain, a small habit that it developed since it was young. It came to the mountain to rest and look around, enjoying the sites or possibly finding some company. It stood there unassumingly, its small black eyes looking around.

Then the raven felt something, the ground shook beneath it. Another, stronger tremor followed it, making the raven jump around frantically and look around in confusion and panic as to what was going on. Yet another one came, this one picking up dust and small pebbles. Fear overwhelmed the raven and it quickly flew away from the site.

The tremors continued, each one stronger than the last. Cracks began appearing on the side of the mountain, at first small but they became a kilometer in radius.

Suddenly, a hand punched through the side of the mountain. The hand was humanoid but with chalk-white skin and black claws on its fingers. The hand quickly clenched into a fist before it began to shake. Soon after, that side of the mountain exploded, sending rocky debris throughout the forest and scaring the wildlife away.

A figure jumped from the crater to the base of the mountain, a loud crash was heard as its feet made contact with the grassy ground. The figure was obviously male, quite muscular, and completely shirtless with some black veins adorning his physique.

The man then stretched, loudly cracking the stiff joints of his muscles. He spread its arms and took a deep long breath. "Ah, fresh air at last," he said with a deep almost melodic voice. His head then turned to look around. "Hmm, the terrain changed quite a bit from the last time I saw it. I've been sealed in there for a long time it seems." He then looked up. "And I can barely sense any magic around. Quite curious."

He then began walking away from the mountain. "But there is still one place I can sense. Cannot wait to see it again," he said with a small chuckle. "And I wonder if those two are still alive."

* * *

Salem walked through the dark rocky grounds of the Land of Darkness, her hands clasped together in front of her. Trailing behind her were her servants Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows and Hazel Rainart.

Salem was a woman with chalk-white skin, white hair tied in a bun and six extensions to the side, a long black short-sleeved dress with a small opening on her chest and a black cape. Her most striking features were the red eyes with black sclera and the black veins visible on her arms and around her eyes.

Arthur was a middle-aged man with greying black hair, thick mustache, and tanned skin. He wore grey pants and suit with golden highlights, a yellow shirt with a necktie, purple undercoat with matching fingerless gloves.

Tyrian was a pale man with black hair tied in a ponytail. He wore white a sleeveless white jacket with belts wrapped around it and white pants. His arms were covered in bandages and vambraces and he wore large boots. He also possessed a metal scorpion tail with a container of purple poison.

Hazel was a man who towered over everyone in the group, with brown hair and beard. He wore a green coat with a large belt, short-sleeved black shirt, black pants, and boots.

Recently Salem's subordinates failed to achieve victory at Haven Academy, which also resulted in the loss of her other servant, Cinder Fall and with Adam Taurus gone to do his own thing she wasn't allied with the White Fang. Not to mention the Spring Maiden was out of their grasp. All in all, she wasn't pleased.

"Your Grace," Hazel began, the large man still not comfortable around Salem with the recent events. "Once again, I'm sorry for the-"

"Enough, Hazel," Salem interrupted, not even turning to look at him. "What's done is done. We can only move forward from here."

Tyrian let out a small maniacal laugh as he looked at Hazel. "You're lucky our queen is so merciful. Though I suggest you use more brain and less brawn next time." That caused Hazel to give Tyrian a slight glare.

Watts only sighed at their antics. "If you two are done with your childish behavior then I suggest you think of something to say for the upcoming meeting."

"Oh, you're no fun, Watts," Tyrian complained.

"Not your idea of fun, at least."

The four then approached the Evernight Castle, which was a tall structure made of purple crystals for the exterior, with a large tower in the middle and several smaller ones around it.

The group then noticed something strange around the castle.

"Your Grace, are those Grimm supposed to be here?" Watts asked. The Grimm being here wasn't an issue since they are born here, but there were quite a few of Beowolves and some Ursa just lounging around the castle and some were even entering it through the front gate.

Salem only glared at the sight. "No, they are not." And with that, she hurried her step and entered the castle. They walked through corridors of the castle which were also filled with Grimm.

"What is going on here?" Hazel said as he looked at all the Grimm in the castle.

"That's what I would like to know as well," Salem said in a serious tone. What exactly were those Grimm doing here? They weren't following her orders which meant that someone else commanded them to come inside. Something strange was going on and she didn't like it. She had enough complications already.

They reached the gate of the Conference Hall and Salem opened them. The room itself was colored black with large windows on opposite sides, several crystal formations with lit candles surrounding it and a wooden table in the middle.

At the end of the room was Salem's own throne, and that was the spot that held the shocked looks from the group. Because there was someone sitting on that throne with a large Beowolf laying next to it. On it was a man that resembled Salem in some way since he had the same colored skin, hair, eyes, and even he possessed black veins on visible on his arms, broad chest and around his eyes.

However unlike Salem, the man's physique and height matched that of Hazel if not more, his hair was long and wild, he also had some white fur on his arms, chest, and shoulders. He was also only dressed in black pants while his chiseled upper body was left exposed to the elements.

He just casually sat on the throne, a confident look on his face, which most would consider very handsome, and in his hands, he was holding… a cup of tea. If they were honest, that was the most unusual thing about him, currently. He took a sip of tea as he looked at the group who were still shocked.

"Well, looks like I have visitors," the man said teasingly since he knew that he was the one who was actually a 'visitor'.

Tyrian snapped out of it first and glared at the man. "Who are you?! And how dare you sit on the queen's throne?!" he asked angrily as he got into a battle stance, his tail ready. The other two also readied themselves.

Salem's own shock disappeared, replaced with a narrowed look as she continued watching the new arrival.

The man's eyes settled on Salem. "Ah yes, the queen," he said as he took another sip of the tea. "Mmmm, nice to see that these are still around even after so long." He put the cup on a small table near the throne. He then once again gazed at Salem, but this time more focused than before. He squinted his eyes as if examining her before his widened in realization. "Is that you, Salem?"

"Wolfram," she said, her expression unchanging.

Wolfram gave a laugh. "So you still remember. Good, I thought my memory would be lost to time."

Watts looked at Salem confused. "Your Grace, who is he?"

"A relic of the past. Someone who I thought would be sealed for eternity," Salem answered.

"No spell can last for eternity, my dear Salem. Even as powerful as the one you put on me," Wolfram said. He got up and gave the Beowolf a small caress on its black fur. "Though, I must admit I didn't expect to see you so… different from before. Is Ozma here with you?"

Salem's eyes narrowed and her fist clenched. "No, he isn't," she said angrily.

"Oh, that's a shame. It would have been quite a reunion. Old enemies meeting together," he said with a smile as he began approaching them. "But if I'm being honest, I prefer your company a lot more. And I must admit, you fill out that dress quite well."

Salem only looked annoyed at the comment. "How did you get out?"

"The spell weakened enough to the point until I could break free," Wolfram answered simply. "But that's not important right now. I see that you also took a bath in the Grimm pool. Tell me, do you like the power it offered?"

"My lady, allow us to dispose of the fool!" Tyrian said as he continued glaring at Wolfram.

Wolfram laughed. "Come, I'd like to see you try to take out the Lord of Grimm."

"Stand down, all of you," Salem commanded in a tone that showed no room for arguments and her servants complied. "Unfortunately for you, Wolfram, I'm the current Lord of Grimm and this is my castle. So you have to comply with what I have to say or face the consequences."

"If you told me that the last time we met I wouldn't have taken you seriously," Wolfram said. "But I can see that you're more powerful than before. Still," he said as he approached her. "I'm actually very glad to see you as you are. Not only have you become more powerful you're also more beautiful than before."

"You think flattering will get you a way out of this?"

"It's not flattering, it's simply the truth. Besides, what exactly are your current goals that you think I'm a threat to?"

Tyrian got an excited look on his face. "Why, conquering the four kingdoms, of course!" he exclaimed but got a glare from Salem. "Oh, forgive me, my queen."

"Ah, so I see that our goals align," Wolfram said. "Then there is no reason for us to be enemies. We should ally ourselves and help each other out." He then extended his hand. "Come Salem, let the two Lords of Grimm unite. I'm sure that together we'd be even more formidable than before."

Salem only looked at the extended hand for a few silent moments, her servants anticipating what she would do. She wasn't sure about this alliance. Wolfram tried to kill her and Ozma before, but that was before she 'saw the light' for the lack of a better term and now she herself was the same type of creature Wolfram was. A human turned monster with the power to control other monsters.

But from what she could tell his offer was genuine. She was a hero now turned more or less villain and that was what no doubt intrigued Wolfram into making the offer. There could also be many benefits, his own power was great and would no doubt be a great asset to her, especially if they went against Ozma and his students.

"Very well then," Salem said before taking his hand in her own. "I accept your offer of alliance."

Wolfram grinned at those words, showing the two rows of sharp teeth he had. "Excellent. I'm very much looking forward to working with you," he said. "But still, I need to be caught up with the current state of things. I have been sealed for some time."

Salem nodded and motioned for him to take a seat before she began catching him up to speed to what was going on after so many millennia.

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**AN: And that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed the story and that my OC villain doesn't appear shallow. I'm not sure when I'll upload next but it probably won't be too long or too soon.**

**And once again, I implore you to check out my stories. And give me some feedback with reviews, they are great motivators.**

**See you next time!**


	2. 2 Past Problems

The Lords of Grimm

**AN: Hello, dear readers! Man, this came out quicker than I thought it would. I guess my inspiration was still there. Though I'm currently not inspired to write more so you'll definitely have to wait for a little while before I come back to this.**

**Now to reviews.**

**Dracus6: Not much of a fan. Never gotten into them. It may change in the future.**

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2 Past Problems

Salem and Wolfram sat within the meeting chamber for a while, with Salem explaining to her fellow Grimm Lord what transpired over several millennia that passed since he was sealed within the mountain. He was honestly intrigued to hear that the magic no longer existed in this world, besides a few exceptions and it did explain why the moon was half destroyed. But to think that the two Brothers would actually exterminate all of humanity, it came unexpectedly to him if he was honest.

And there are these maidens and relics that Ozma, now called Ozpin, was trying to gather. A desperate way to try and defeat Salem.

"So that's how it is," stated Wolfram knowingly.

Salem nodded. "Yes, more or less."

The three other men stood at the side as they watched the two converse. Hazel and Watts were the most intrigued by this newcomer who could just so calmly talk to someone as powerful as their queen, while Tyrian just looked angry.

"I don't like him," Tyrian growled out, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

"Why don't you tell that to him? I'm sure he'd take it well," Watts commented.

Hazel only continued watching the two.

Wolfram rose from his seat. "It's a real shame, what happened between you and Ozma. For him to abandon you like that, try to take your children as well," he said as he walked behind Salem whose eyes followed his movements. "And only because he disagreed with how you wanted to change the world." He then put his hand on the backrest of her chair, nearly touching her. "If I was in his place I would never have done such a thing. I would appreciate what I have, what I've built and achieved."

Salem's eyes still narrowed despite the apparent sincerity of his voice. "And since when did you care about anyone but yourself?"

Wolfram chuckled. "I'm not a completely heartless monster, my dear Salem. It's just that not a lot of people earn my sympathy," he explained as he retracted his hand. "I see your vision of the world as perfection, a goal that I can get behind. You have earned my respect."

"Is that so?"

He jokingly made a cross-motion on his chest with his fingers. "Cross my heart and hope to die," he said before slightly laughing. "In all seriousness, you have my help. With the two of us, Ozma… sorry, Ozpin's chances of winning are impossible." He then brought his face closer to hers. "And I very much look forward to us working together," he said with a knowing smile before retracting. "Now if you excuse me, I need to go out and take in the sights. I want to see just how much this place changed."

Before he could walk away, Salem called out. "The Grimm, get them out of the palace."

"Come on, Salem. They make this place lovelier," Wolfram argued as he petted a Beowolf on the head. "Besides, they don't leave any unnecessary waste."

"Sorry, but they will be a bother to me and my servants. So get them out," Salem demanded.

Wolfram frowned. "Fine then, as you wish," he said before giving a mental command. All the Grimm in the palace then began immediately walking out. Wolfram soon followed.

The three men then approached Salem, Tyrian still glaring at the retreating Wolfram.

"My Lady, are you sure this is wise?" Hazel asked.

"And what else should I have said exactly? Tell him 'no'. I don't need him to be our enemy as well as Ozpin," she explained, her expression neutral. "Besides, he could still be a powerful ally. Refusing his offer would have been a waste."

"Pardon the curiosity, my Lady," Watts began. "But who is he exactly? I wasn't aware there was another Lord of Grimm around."

Salem gained a slight smirk. "Looks like I'm all about telling tales today."

Watts retreated back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Enough," she said with a wave of her hand. "If you're going to work with him you may as well know who he is." They then watched intently at her. "Just so you know, a lot of these things were told to me by another as I wasn't present during most of it."

* * *

_'__Far back, during the time I was still a mortal woman, there was a mighty kingdom. It was great and prosperous, with its king ruling as a mighty warrior. He was respected by all and feared by quite a few as well. The King himself had only a single child, a son that his wife bore before she died.'_

_'__However, much to the King's dismay, the son turned out to be a disappointment. He wasn't a fighter, being physically weak, barely able to wield a weapon. No matter how much he trained the son wasn't improving. The king then made a request of the kingdom's mightiest wizard, Huntar, to take the young son as his apprentice and teach him magic."_

_Wolfram, now around eighteen years old, focused on his palms, trying to get some spark of magic out of his palms. The way he looked was quite a contrast to what he would be in the future, fairly average build, short black hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a dark vest with green pants._

_Beside Wolfram was an elderly man, with long white hair and beard dressed in a blue robe, a metal staff with a purple crystal in his hands. That was the wizard Huntar._

_"__Focus, young prince," Huntar said silently, not wanting to distract the boy._

_Wolfram focused, his hand outstretched in front of him. He once again tried to focus the magic out of his body. He stood for several minutes, sweat appearing on his brow, his eyes narrowed. And nothing happened._

_Wolfram sighed and put his hand down. He turned to Huntar. "What am I doing wrong?"_

_Huntar stroked his beard. "I'm honestly not sure, my prince. You've pretty much meant all the requirements of being able to cast a spell."_

_Suddenly, the king burst through the door, dressed in his armor and royal cape, a golden crown on his brow. He approached the wizard._

_"__Well, is there any progress?" the question was more of a demand than anything else._

_"__I'm sorry, my king. We've been trying for a while now but your son seems incapable of producing magic," Huntar answered which made Wolfram look down in shame. That was honestly more humiliating than his skills with weapons since everyone is capable of wielding magic but he couldn't create even a spark._

_The king groaned in frustration. "Why has my wife died to give me such a pathetic son?" he complained as he rubbed his face._

_That caused Wolfram to look at his father in shock. Of all the things the king called him in the past he never referred to him as pathetic, which only increased his feeling of shame._

_Huntar noticed the situation and quickly spoke. "It's still too early to tell. We'll continue practicing and I'm sure your son will get a hang of it."_

_The king scoffed. "If I don't see results soon than this was nothing but a waste of time," he said. Wolfram thought he heard an undertone in his father's voice as if he restrained himself from calling Wolfram a waste of time. The king then turned away. "The gods must have cursed me." And with those words, the king departed._

_Huntar put a comforting hand on Wolfram's shoulder. "Your father is only speaking out of anger, young prince. He doesn't mean any of it."_

_"__I wish I could believe that, Huntar. I really wish I could," Wolfram said as his mouth began to twitch. "If you would excuse me, I'll retreat to my quarters."_

_The mighty wizard could only look sadly at the young prince as he walked away from the training room._

_Wolfram sat the large bed within his room. His head hung down, his eyes threatening to water but he refused to shed a tear. His father didn't deserve it._

_But in all honesty, he wished that there was something he could do. He hated being so weak, always having his father and everyone else talk down to him like that. He couldn't count how many times people have called a failure of a prince and a disgrace to his father's legacy. What could he have done about it, it wasn't his fault he was born this way._

_If only there was something, something that could make him better. It honestly did seem like the gods cursed him._

_His head suddenly perked up. That's it. The gods! They were the key to his solution. The Brothers were still present in this world so they could help. But the likelihood of that actually happening was slim to nonexistent. Still, he had to try._

_'__And so the young prince began his journey. He sneaked out of his father's palace, taking all the necessary provisions for his trip. His search was long, passing through many terrains and hardships that presented themselves before him. But he finally reached his goal.'_

_Wolfram walked through the Land of Darkness, the dwelling of the God of Darkness. He walked down a flight of stairs before finding himself in front of a pool of black water. _

_He steeled himself and called out. "I demand an audience with the God of Darkness!"_

_Suddenly, the water was disturbed, sending mighty ripples from the center. Out of it came a shape of a man, completely purple in color, featureless except for the horns on his head. His limbs were twisted in unnatural ways before snapping back in their place. The figure then stood at the edge of the pool, several Grimm walking to his side._

_"__You must be quite brave or quite foolish, _demanding_ an audience with me," he then walked forward. "But you got my interest, speaking so boldly to me. Why have you come here?"_

_Wolfram took a deep breath and stood tall. "I want power."_

_That caused the god to tilt his head to the side in confusion. He then gave a laugh. "In all of my years, I've never seen such a bold human. You come into my domain, demanding an audience with me and now you also demand that I give you power." He was now standing in front of Wolfram, towering over the prince. "What caused you to act in such a way?"_

_"__Because I have nothing to lose. I am unable to wield a weapon, shaming my father. And I also found out that I'm completely unable to wield magic," Wolfram explained, his resolve not wavering one bit. "And I don't know why this is. Every human is capable of using magic, so why can't I? Have you decided that I'm the one who shouldn't?"_

_The God of Darkness rubbed his chin. "Hmm, that's quite peculiar," he said before extending his hand, enveloping Wolfram in dark light. "Ah, I see. So you really can't use magic. It would appear that you are a defect."_

_Wolfram's eyes widened at what the god said, but then it became serious again. "If that's how it is, then you owe me. You have to give me power."_

_The god looked at him for a moment before once again letting out a laugh. "This is honestly the amusing thing I've seen in a while," he said. "But tell me, why not go to my brother for such demand?"_

_Wolfram looked down. "Because… my reasons are selfish. I don't think he would have."_

_"__Well, aren't you a smart one," the dark god commented. "Normally, I would incinerate you where you stand for such insolence. But you've proven to be quite entertaining and the fact you came to me instead of my brother pleases me." He then quickly grabbed Wolfram by the throat, shocking the prince as he tried to pry the hands off. "So I'll give you something special."_

_The God of Darkness then turned around and threw Wolfram into his large pool. Bubbles erupted from it, the black water became uneasy and rumbling was heard from beneath it. A red glow also came from it and shined for a few moments._

_After a while, a clawed white hand grabbed the edge of the pool, Wolfram quickly arose from it, sending some water flying around him as he gasped for air. He then rose to his feet and looked at his transformed hands. "What did you do?" he asked before turning and looking at his reflection in the dark pool. He looked like a completely different person, he was far larger, the only article clothing that wasn't destroyed being his pants, and had some animalistic traits. And most of all… he felt powerful._

_His face then began morphing into a smile. He felt incredible… no, invincible. He then turned towards one of the dark crystals that decorated the dark domain. He walked up to it, cocked his fist back and punched it, making it shatter into a million pieces._

_This time, he laughed. He laughed so hard that it echoed through the domain. "Yes, YES! This is what I wanted!"_

_The dark Brother looked at the scene with amusement, like seeing a child discovering sweets. It would appear that his little bath in the pool also had some alterations to his psyche, seeing as he seemed to act differently._

_Wolfram then turned back to the dark god and gave a bow. "I thank you, my lord. This is the greatest gift anyone could have ever given me. What do you want in return?"_

_The deity chuckled. "Oh, I don't want anything. There really isn't anything you could give me either way. All I want is to see what you would do with the power I've given you."_

_A maniacal smile spread on Wolfram's lips. "Oh, all the things I'll do with this power."_

_'__And so, Wolfram left the Land of Darkness, ready to test out the power that was given to him. He returned to his father's kingdom, shocking the king with his new appearance before killing him and raising the castle to the ground. So he began a conquest of his own, taking over lands by force, an army of Grimm by his side.'_

_'__People tried to oppose him but failed. Nobody could match him in power. But not everyone lost hope. Huntar, the former wizard of Wolfram's father escaped and went to seek out his former apprentice… Ozma. He needed help if he wanted to take Wolfram out and I was also there to lend a hand. An army was gathered to fight Wolfram and the three of us joined to fight him personally.'_

_The three of them stood in front of Wolfram, suffering some battle damage from the fight while Wolfram only had a few singes on him._

_Wolfram laughed. "Any more tricks you three have?" he asked mockingly._

_Huntar turned to Ozma. "There is one thing that I can do stop him, but the two of you will have to buy me some time. Can you do that?"_

_"__We can, master," Ozma said before looking at Salem, who was in her human form sporting long blonde hair and blue eyes. She gave him a nod and they charged Wolfram._

_Wolfram responded by charging at them as well, his fist ready to strike. However, his strike was met by a magical shield produced by Salem and Ozma took the opportunity to attack with a magic beam from his staff. Wolfram was fast enough to avoid the attack as the beam flew past his head._

_Instead of attacking Ozma, he focused on Salem and slammed his fist into the shield, this time putting more strength into it and shattering it. Salem moaned in pain from the backlash which caused her knee to meet the ground._

_"__No!" Ozma exclaimed and readied another attack. Wolfram did then something Ozma didn't anticipate and jumped over the magical blast towards him. Ozma didn't activate his defenses quickly enough before he was kicked in the head and sent hurling back._

_Wolfram grinned at the situation but quickly turned towards Salem who now stood up and ready to engage him, her hands glowing with mystical energy._

_"__You know, you don't have to fight me," Wolfram said. "You can surrender, and I'll be more than willing to spare your life. In fact..." He extended his hand. "I offer you to become my queen. You are definitely a more than worthy candidate, beauty and power at once."_

_Her eyes only narrowed. "No," was her simple which made Wolfram frown._

_"__Too bad. You missed quite an opportunity."_

_She then began using her magic, hands extended towards him with Wolfram ready to guard against it. But then he was hit in the back with another magic attack and turned to see a familiar black-haired and green-eyed man pointing his staff at him._

_"__Don't count me out just yet."_

_Salem then shot at him and he quickly braced himself for impact. He blocked the attack with his arm but was forced to block another one from Ozma. Caught between two blasts energy he had no choice but to jump backward out of the way. He then continued dodging the beams shot at him by them._

_Then he noticed the old wizard further away, keeping distance while chanting something. _

_"__So, you're only distracting me," he said in annoyance. "Too bad." He jumped over their attacks and ran past them straight towards Huntar. Just as he was about to reach him some golden ropes wrapped around him, keeping him in place. He looked back at the two of them in anger, their spell keeping him away from his old mentor. "That won't hold me for long."_

_"__It doesn't have to," Huntar said as he looked Wolfram straight into his eyes. "I've already finished." Then he put his staff up, red energy emanating from it before the staff was reduced to pieces and the red energy went into Huntar. "I'm sorry, my boy. But you've caused enough damage as it is. If only you didn't let your anger get the best of you." He then shot the energy straight into Wolfram._

_Wolfram didn't scream as a blast hit him since it didn't hurt. The golden ropes disappeared but he wasn't able to move. He realized that Huntar's magic was the one that was doing this and he wondered just what the old man planned._

_Huntar shed a tear as the spell continued. "I'm sorry I couldn't have helped you, Wolfram," he said before he himself turned into red energy and struck Wolfram. Suddenly, several rocks sprang from the ground and began encasing the Grimm Lord as he watched in panic what was going on._

_Rocks covered him completely before they themselves were also piled upon by other rocks. A large structure then began growing from the gathering rocks, Salem and Ozma looking awed as a mountain formed in the place of Wolfram, trapping him for many centuries._

* * *

Salem finished telling her tale, and the three men looked fairly stunned.

"So, that's how it went," Watts muttered. "Tell me, do you ever regret not taking his offer?"

Salem then looked at him with narrowed eyes as he tried to put his hands up in defense but before Watts could say anything she already responded. "What happened, happened. I don't want unnecessarily dwell on it." Though as she said that, she now realized the irony of her situation as she became a Lord of Grimm herself.

"I don't like him, mistress," Tyrian complained. "He's up to something, I can sense it."

"From what I've seen, Wolfram isn't that much of a schemer. Unlike me, he's a frontline fighter, making decisions on the fly."

"But, won't that make him unpredictable?" Watts asked, still concerned about the ancient man's motives.

"He isn't dumb, Watts. Even he knows that just going straight into a fight isn't the only solution. He'll be open to suggestions."

"Doesn't hurt to be wary of him though," Hazel said with crossed arms.

"Perhaps, but we should still focus on our mission. We have a lot to do."

Unknowing to them, a small Grimm insect flew out of the room and went outside.

* * *

The insect then flew over to one of the rocky hills located not too far away from the castle. On it, Wolfram was standing and looking over the landscape. He opened his palm and the insect landed on it before letting out several buzzing sounds.

"Not much of a schemer, eh?" he said with a chuckle. "Oh, Salem, Salem, Salem. You shouldn't underestimate me so."

Still, this alliance is something that will benefit him greatly. He will finally have the entire world in his grasp, and he will have Salem ruling by his side. Ozma was a fool, trying to abandon a woman as wonderful as Salem. But now the slot opened to him, and he had all the intention of having Salem as his queen, now more than ever.

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**AN: And that's it for now. Well, if any of you were curious as to where Wolfram came from, here you go. Did you like it, hate it? Tell me in the reviews.**

**And once again, check out my other stories. They're well worth your time, trust me.**

**See you next time!**


	3. 3 Time for Confrontation

The Lords of Grimm

**AN: Well, I haven't touched this one in a while. I apologize if you had to wait too long for this chapter to come out, but I recently got into it and I hope it proves worth it.**

**Now to reviews.**

**MadTitan9: Here you go.**

**Dracus6: Pretty sure that goes without saying.**

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3 Time for Confrontation

Salem traversed through her castle, looking for her new acquaintance and former foe. She was honestly hoping that he would come and talk to her about what to do next, but she hasn't seen him in a while. And that thought honestly made her nervous. True, she may have agreed on having Wolfram here but she didn't know him all that well, and the lack of his presence made her suspicious.

So she focused on sensing him, trying to find an unusual presence within the castle. The moment she did it wasn't hard to tell where he was. His signature was unique, resembling a sort of dark pit, similar to the Grimm but emitting such vibrant dark energy. She honestly wondered if that is how her signature felt since she couldn't really tell.

But his location was very interesting, her library. Salem wondered what exactly he would want from there. She reached the library within a minute and opened the double doors leading into it. She was met with a sight of Wolfram sitting on a chair, a purple book in his hand. There was also the Beowolf from before sitting next to him. The room wasn't particularly big, actually on the smaller side compared to other rooms in the castle.

When Salem saw what he was reading she raised an eyebrow. It was a book of spells, pretty advanced ones at that. Why on all Remnant would he be reading something like this when he couldn't do magic at all she had no idea?"

Wolfram then looked up to her and grinned. "Fancy seeing you here, my dear Salem. Is there something you need?"

"I'm wondering why you are learning magic," Salem said with her arms crossed.

He cast a glance at the book before looking back at her. "Not learning, reading. Quite a difference, I tell you. And if you're wondering why, it's simple," he said before gesturing towards the bookshelves that were in the room. "Those spellbooks are most you have. I don't really see any novels here. And I'm not really keen on reading map books."

"They are called Atlases," Salem corrected him.

"Whatever they're called now," Wolfram said annoyingly before putting the book down and getting up. "As you see, entertainment is more on the limited side here so I'm coping." He then turned to the Beowolf and petted him on the head. "Isn't that right, boy?"

Salem really wanted to laugh at the display. Seeing Wolfram, another Lord of Grimm, complaining so much about not being entertained, reading books about subjects he knew nothing about, and petting a Beowolf like it was a pet.

"Maybe we should talk battle strategy, and not just laze around like slobs," she said. "You are supposed to be a good planner considering you've waged war with humanity for years."

Wolfram closed the book and put it on the table before rising up. "Why so serious, my dear Salem?"

"Don't… call me that," Salem said in a somewhat threatening voice with her eyes narrowed.

Wolfram raised an eyebrow. "Why? Does that offend you somehow?" he asked as he walked behind her.

"Just don't."

Wolfram smiled before leaning his face down where it was placed next to her shoulder. "Oh, and just what do I have to do to get that privilege?"

She sharply turned around and was ready to give him a slap but he quickly pulled back his head before she could.

"You better keep your distance if you know what's good for you," she threatened as her red eyes began to glow.

Wolfram just sighed at that. "Alright, fine. I'll keep my distance," he said. "Though in my defense, with the way you look a man can't really control himself."

Salem wasn't sure if she should be angry or flattered by the compliment, as nobody tried to actually flirt with her the way Wolfram did.

"Let's just talk, shall we?" she said before walking out of the library with Wolfram following her.

"Just so you know," he said making her look at him as they walked. "I'm not one of your servants; you can't make me give up by intimidating me."

Salem just scoffed under her breath and turned her head back. However, as much as she didn't want to admit it, Wolfram was right. She couldn't just intimidate him like she did others as he was actually powerful enough to go against her, immortality or not. And if she tried to use the Grimm on him they would probably end up confused at whom to listen to since both of them can control them.

He honestly had no reason to treat her as anything else than a colleague, something which Salem wasn't used to because of all these years as 'The Queen' or 'The Goddess' and things like that. One of the reasons why she didn't want Wolfram to call her 'my dear Salem' was because she thought it demeaning. Not to mention she didn't want that kind of affection from him, she knew better from long ago.

They went through the huge double doors of the throneroom where the others were gathered and Salem took a seat at the head while took a seat next to Watts. The three men were still uncomfortable with the Grimm Lord's presence as they somewhat tensed, though for Tyrian it was more of suspiciousness.

"Well then, let us proceed with the meeting," Salem said.

After a while of discussing strategies, everyone agreed on Salem's idea for what comes next, with the proceeding Grimm invasion and the hacking of Atlas' security systems. However, they did run into one problem.

Wolfram had no idea what hacking was.

Salem wanted to facepalm at the oversight, completely forgetting that Wolfram was sealed for so many years that the advancement of technology went unnoticed by him. He had no idea about computers, scrolls (electric ones), or cars. Hell, he didn't even know about the Faunus so the meeting became extra-long since they had to explain all that too him.

After hearing all that, Wolfram had to compliment humanity's ingenuity when it came to inventing. To think they would come so far without magic was simply astounding. And to learn that there was a subspecies of humans who had animal traits was also something he found very interesting considering that those didn't exist during his time. Perhaps the lack of influence from the gods made the humans more connected with nature instead of magic so some eventually developed those traits.

He also heard about how Ozma was now in a cycle of reincarnation, transferring to a new host body that retains his previous memories after death, and is now in search for the Relics that were given by the gods, four relics of Choice, Knowledge, Creation, and Destruction, with the Relic of Knowledge in Ozma's possession. She wanted to continue searching for the Relic of Choice that was at Beacon but the search had to stop for now.

And another thing he learned was the Maidens, initially the four daughters Ozma and Salem, but now hosts for the magical power the four possessed. Those four are needed to unlock the special vaults where the Relics are located.

"So, we need to get those Maidens so we can recover the Relics created by the gods, though one Relic is lost to us still," Wolfram said as he rubbed his chin.

"In essence, yes," Watts said. "We think that the next best accessible Maiden is located in Atlas and I'll go personally with Tyrian so we can infiltrate."

"I see," Wolfram said before getting up. "Well, this was quite a meeting, but now I need to outside to… stretch my legs for a bit."

Salem only gave him a narrowed look. "Stretch your legs?"

"What? Is there a problem with that?" he asked, but her expression was unwavering. He sighed knowing that she wouldn't buy it. "Fine, I do plan on confronting them."

"And why should I allow that?" Salem asked.

"You don't 'allow' me to do anything," Wolfram said as he gave her a slight glare. "I'm not an underling, so you don't command me." He then once again turned away. "You don't need to worry, I won't do anything to hinder your plan, I'm not an idiot."

"And why are you so eager to reveal yourself? We could have the element of surprise," Salem suggested.

Wolfram chuckled. "Now where's the fun in that? Keeping me hidden won't make much of a difference considering what you plan to do." He turned back with a confident smile. "Trust me, my dear Salem. I know what I'm doing."

And with that, he walked away from the meeting table.

Salem watched as he walked away. She wasn't sure if she should let him go, especially considering that he wasn't in any way under her control. He may very well mess up her plans, and with his demeanor of uncaringness, you could think that, but she knew better.

But just in case, she decided to have a few small Grimm follow him. He could probably notice but he also probably wouldn't care. She would still have him in her sight.

But whatever he had planned, she knew they had similar goals, so he wouldn't just betray her. That was a sure thing at least.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Argus, Oscar was sitting at a couch in the house of Jaune's sister Saphron, and her wife Terra. He was looking over the folded staff that belonged to Ozpin, a man currently in his mind.

Oscar wondered what exactly will they achieve at the end of this journey. Salem was revealed to be immortal, so defeating her will be a challenge to say the least. But he had hope, immortal didn't necessarily mean invincible.

Ruby and the others were currently discussing on what they should do next, how to get to Atlas, and get the Relic there.

He was beginning to listen when he suddenly felt a shiver. Not a physical one, but seemingly a… mental one.

_"__Ozpin, is something wrong?" _Oscar asked the man in his head. However, he was met with silence. _"Right. Still nothing."_

Deep within Oscar's mind, Ozpin dwelled, still conflicted about everything that happened. His secrets were revealed, and he felt so much shame for hiding it from the people who trusted him with their lives.

Then he felt a shiver go down his spine, which is something strange for him to feel since he didn't have an actual body and he wasn't possessing Oscar.

Something felt… wrong. He couldn't describe it at first, but he felt that some sort of magic source just… disappeared.

He had a feeling that he would need to stop his exile soon and do something. He had a very bad feeling about the future events. As if he didn't have enough on his mind.

* * *

Adam Taurus wasn't having a good time these past few days. After his defeat at Haven, the White Fang has turned against him, leaving him alone. First, he was betrayed by Blake, then all his own subordinates betray him? Everything was falling apart so fast.

The white Grimm mask he once wore was now replaced by a simple black one, matching the rest of his current clothes. He tried to keep his intimidating image as much as he could, despite how futile it seemed now.

But he was determined if nothing else, and that determination was currently focused on one thing. Revenge.

Adam was currently looking for Blake Belladonna, the woman who, in his mind, was the main reason for his fall from grace. His hand gripped the handle of his katana firmly.

He was currently walking through the woods that led to the city of Argus, where he tracked down the movements of Blake and her team. His teeth grit in anger at the thought of meeting her, and he couldn't wait to vent it out on his former comrade.

"Well, hello there," Adam suddenly heard someone behind him before quickly turning around, ready to draw his blade. He was caught off guard by what, or rather who he saw.

The man in front of him resembled a faunus, but he looked unlike anyone he had ever seen. The pale skin and the black veins would certainly make him stand out in the crowd.

"Who are you?" Adam asked sternly.

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'm called Wolfram," he said. "And you must be Adam Taurus of the White Fang. Oh, sorry. _Formerly_ of the White Fang."

Adam growled at the man's comments. "Are working with Cinder?"

"No, I do not," Wolfram answered. "But I am affiliated with the people she worked for. Oh, by the way, you should really clean your sword better. I could smell the blood on it from quite a distance."

Adam glanced at his sword. It's true, he killed quite a few of the White Fang members after they turned against him, and he didn't have time to properly clean his sword. But if he was honest, that didn't matter right now.

"Well whoever you are, I'm not coming back to whoever you work for. I have my own ambition, and if you want to live, then I suggest that you out of my way," he explained. "Or does my blade need to taste more blood."

Wolfram chuckled at that. "Well, aren't you a big boy, acting all mighty and tough," he mockingly teased, agitating the bull faunus more. "I wonder who you're so angry at." Wolfram then walked beside him while Adam kept his distance. He looked at the town nearby. "Is that where they're located, the people you hate?" Wolfram could hear the man's grip on the hilt tighten in anger making him smirk. "I'm right, aren't I? You see, I'm sure that those people are also the ones that I'm looking for. So thank you for that." He then began walking away. "You're services aren't required anymore."

Adam growled at the continued mockery coming from the man. He had enough. With a scream, he dashed at the retreating Wolfram at great speed, Wilt already out of its sheath and a slash aimed directly at Wolfram's neck.

He closed the distance in less than a second, and the blade was about to connect until it suddenly stopped. Adam was shocked when he saw this. His sword was just over a centimeter away from Wolfram's neck, held at bay with the Grimm Lord's fingers on the blade.

Wolfram looked back at him with an amused grin, as he completely expected such a reaction. He then turned around, his fingers still on the blade as Adam tried to pull it back.

"Now, now," Wolfram said before bringing up his other hand, running the clawed fingers across the blade. He put his middle finger underneath it, and literally FLICKED the blade out of Adam's hands, with the faunus looking dumbfounded at what happened. "That was just rude."

* * *

Ruby, Oscar, and others began enacting the plan to secretly sneak into Atlas after hijacking a ship, but things didn't go according to plan, and they were discovered.

And right now, they were currently fighting Caroline Cordovin who was piloting a giant mech suit equipped with quite deadly and explosive weapons.

"Did you really think that you would be able to sneak into Atlas?!" Cordovin said with the Colossus as the airship Manta flew some distance from it. The mech extended its hand, after which a missile container rose from its wrist. "You'll feel the full might of Atleasian Military!"

"Well, looks like we got a fight on our hands," Nora said as she readied her hammer.

"Looks like it," Ruby said while holding her scythe.

Everyone else got ready to fight giant mech, but then suddenly a boulder flew just above them and headed straight at the mech, hitting the unfired missiles and causing them to explode, leaving quite a damage on the robot's hand. The explosion made the robot stumble before it knelt as grunts from Cordovin could be heard.

Everyone looked confused at what just transpired.

Then they heard someone chuckle from behind. "Quite a pickle you found yourselves in, I see." They turned back and saw someone coming from the woods at the cliff they were standing on.

When the man came into full view, their eyes widened. The man in front of them bared a striking resemblance to Salem, though having a more animalistic look to him. Just what was going on?

Then they remembered something. When Jinn was showing them the past of Salem and Ozma, they also saw some of the adventures they had, one of which did include the two of them fighting a man that resembled Salem. They realized that this was definitely that man. But what on Earth was he doing here? Wasn't he defeated?

Wolfram looked at the group in amusement. It would seem that he helped them out in this situation by temporarily disabling that… robot, was it called? He could also feel the presence of another very powerful Grimm nearby, a Leviathan, but he used his command over the Grimm to keep it at bay for the moment.

"So you're the group that caused Salem so many troubles," Wolfram said as he looked over the group. They were mostly pretty young except for the one man who looked to be in his middle-aged years. "I must admit, you impress me." His eyes then landed on Oscar. "Ah, so that's where Ozma is hiding."

Qrow groaned. "Well, that's just perfect. As if Salem wasn't enough, now we have another to deal with," he complained. He knew that bad luck followed him, but this was just ridiculous. And they still have yet to deal with Cordovin and getting to Atlas.

Wolfram chuckled. "Yes, you are quite unfortunate," he said. "By the way." He then extended his hand, showing that he was holding someone. "Do any of you know him?" The group was further shocked to see a bloodied and unconscious form of Adam Taurus being held by the back of his collar. "Judging by the expressions you all do." Wolfram then threw Adam near them as the faunus landed with a groan.

Ruby got over her shock and pointed her scythe at Wolfram. "And just what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Wolfram said. "What I want is quite simple." He then extended his hand near his face. His black claws then grew several centimeters in length. "I want to see if you all are worth my time."

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**AN: And that is it for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Our second antagonist finally met our heroes and the next chapter will show just what he is capable of.**

**And I hope you check out my other stories. Trust me, they are worth it. And please leave a review. They are great motivators.**

**See you next time!**


	4. 4 The Wolf's Den

The Lords of Grimm

**AN: Hello there, my dear readers! After leaving you on that cliffhanger (hehehe) I finally upload the next chapter and in this one, our heroes fight Wolfram. How will they fare against the Lord of Grimm? Read and find out.**

**Now to reviews.**

**Crovos: Oh trust me, Jaune will have a good role in the story.**

**rubeneliasrivera: Well, I don't know about that happening, but who knows.**

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4 The Wolf's Den

Wolfram slowly walked towards the group, making all of them go on edge. As if having to deal with the giant mech suit wasn't enough, now they had to deal with this Salem look-alike, and considering how powerful she was supposed to be they weren't really positive. And the fact that he apparently beat Adam Taurus without getting a scratch more or less confirmed it.

The Grimm Lord couldn't stop grinning. After waking up in this brand new world, he was very curious about how the people of today fought. The bull boy gave him some of that experience but he got beaten way too quickly. Perhaps fighting a group could amuse him.

"Now, the more you struggle, the more it will hurt," Wolfram said before taking a battle stance. "So feel free to go crazy!"

"Well that's just great," Qrow said unamused. "Now we also fight a guy who thinks he is funny." He then got ready for an attack. "Let me take him on."

Ruby was shocked to hear that. "What are you talking about, uncle Qrow?! You think you can fight him yourself?"

"No, not really," Qrow said as he kept looking at the approaching man. "But I'm sure I can provide an opening you can exploit." He pointed his scythe at Wolfram. "Alright! Let's see what you got!"

Qrow then dashed at the man, preparing a huge slash with his weapon. He covered the distance in less than a second before swinging the scythe at Wolfram, who still grinned during Qrow's assault. Wolfram then went for a swipe that deflected the attack, his claws clashing against the scythe, the force behind the counter catching Qrow off guard, before his eyes widened as he saw Wolfram's other hand coming at him. He moved his head at the last moment, but three claws were able to connect with his left cheek.

Qrow then quickly put some distance between him and Wolfram, not wanting to risk having his face clawed out again. His aura can heal the scratches but that would be a whole other beast.

"Come on, that attack was pathetic," Wolfram mocked as he showed the blood that lightly coated his claws. "Don't want to end this too soon." He then licked the blood from them.

"Ugh! This guy has no taste!" Nora said as she glared at the Grimm Lord.

"No time to be making jokes, Nora," Ren said as he got ready to fight.

Oscar wasn't sure what to think of this. He wasn't as good of a fighter as everyone else and they were no doubt assessing the situation already. If only he could be of some use.

_"__Run."_

Oscar's eyes widened when he heard that voice.

_"__Ozpin? Is it really you?"_ he asked before shaking his head. _"Never mind. Glad you're here, but I need to know how to beat this guy."_

_"__You can't,"_ Ozpin answered. _"Even as a group, you couldn't beat him. The only reason he was defeated was a spell that sealed him away. Something even I wasn't capable of. Unlike Salem, he is more than willing for a physical confrontation, so tell the others to run."_

Qrow then went back to attack Wolfram, this time going for a barrage of quicker slashes, seeing how a power strike won't work. However, it didn't seem to matter as his attacks were blocked again.

"Please," Wolfram said as he continued to block the attacks with seeming ease. "If that is all you got-" He was interrupted as a flash of red passed by him and he saw Ruby at his side going for a strike with her own scythe. He quickly grabbed her weapon as it almost connected, shortly before doing the same with Qrow's.

Wolfram then noticed a shadow over him and saw Nora in the air above him, her hammer ready for a strike. "HIIIIIIIIIIYAAAA!" she exclaimed as she brought the hammer down, making Wolfram quickly move to the side as the hammer struck the rocky ground.

Then he quickly turned around grabbed the blade belonging to Jaune, who ended up looking nervously at Wolfram's red and black eyes.

Ren then used the opportunity and shot at Wolfram with his guns. The bullets flew fast through the air, all of them meeting their mark as they hit Wolfram in the back… and doing nothing. Ren and the others looked surprised to see that the shots seemingly had no effect.

Wolfram turned to Ren with a grin on his face and a chuckle. "That tickled," he said before. "But I must say I'm impressed. Trying to take me out with a series of sneak attacks was a clever move." He then looked back at Jaune. "But yours was the most boring." With his grip still on the blade, he swung Jaune and threw him towards Ruby, Nora and Qrow, before being caught by Nora.

"And Ozma." He then turned towards Oscar. "I'm disappointed. I thought that you would be more involved in this fight. Surely you know just how dangerous I am."

Oscar almost gasped for breath as Wolfram looked at him. He felt as if those unnatural eyes pierced his very soul, and considering he was talking to Ozpin they may as well have.

_"__Gather the others and retreat! I told you before, none of you can beat him!"_ Ozpin yelled from inside Oscar's mind.

_"__No! There has to be a way to beat him!" _Oscar proclaimed._ "Surely you know of a way!"_

He then heard Ozpin sigh from inside him. _"I know something that _may_ work, but it won't come easily!"_

_"__Hurry, and tell me!"_

"Now then," Wolfram said. "My turn."

Faster than anyone expected, he was already very close to Qrow whose eyes widened in shock. Trying to block a swipe from the Grimm Lord, his scythe ended up flung away from his hands. Then he felt a huge pain in his stomach, seeing Wolfram's foot already connected to it. His aura was almost immediately depleted from the attack as he was sent flying backward.

Wolfram then went for Ruby and Nora, the two girls struggling to block his claw swipes as they were being forced back. Wolfram then jumped and delivered a spinning kick to Nora's head, sending her flying as well. He was about to swing at Ruby but she was able to activate her Semblance, turning into a cloud of rose petals that moved away at great speed.

"Quick one, aren't you, Red?" Wolfram asked. He then turned around and delivered an elbow strike that Jaune barely blocked with his shield but was pushed away. "Sorry, boy, but that won't work again."

Jaune barely landed on his feet when he touched the ground. He looked at his shield and saw a sizable dent in it. He gave a groan, not happy that one of Pyrrha's mementos was damaged in such a way.

"Now that I think about it," Wolfram said. "I think that I might end up finishing you off too quickly." He then brought his hands up, his claws then retracting to their regular size. "So I'll give you a handicap."

They weren't sure to feel relieved or insulted by that. At least this will make fighting him easier, with no worry of getting skewered by those claws.

Oscar then quickly ran up to Ruby. "Hey, Ruby!"

The silver-eyed girl turned to her friend. "What is it, Oscar?"

"I think there might be a way to stop him."

Wolfram looked around, trying to decide who to attack first. He saw Qrow coming back to the fray, though he seemed to have a bit of trouble standing, some blood dripping at the side of his mouth before he wiped it off, Nora also came but in a less damaged state.

"Ah, I got it!" Wolfram exclaimed. "Why don't you attack me all at once? I'm sure you'll have a better chance then."

"He's mocking us," Jaune said as he glared at Wolfram.

Ren walked next to him. "At least his arrogance gives us a chance," he said in a quieter tone but was surprised when Wolfram then turned to him.

"Not arrogance, confidence," Wolfram told him. "So far you people disappoint. I'm giving you a chance so that I don't die of boredom."

Qrow glanced back at Cordovin's mech. It had trouble standing upwards, but it couldn't even manage that after the damage it took, indicating that it was recovering. He wasn't sure if she would help them or attack them as well, but Wolfram would be a target. Maybe they could hold up and use the help.

No time to waste, Qrow thought as he once again went on the offensive, but this time he activated Harbinger's gun mode and began shooting at Wolfram, who quickly brought his arm to shield his face from the bullets. Then Wolfram felt some stinging near his eye before it continued making him bring his other arm to block. He then saw that it was Ruby who was shooting at him as well.

Nora then used the distraction and went for the offensive, aiming to strike Wolfram to the back of his head but he was able to duck from her swing and kick her away from him. Qrow then went for a slash at Wolfram's side only for him to sidestep and deliver an uppercut to Qrow that sent him flying.

Ren then began shooting at him with his guns. They may not hurt him but at least they can distract him, with the man obviously not experienced when it came to firearms.

Wolfram took all the shots before quickly moving away from Ruby and Jaune's attacks. He let out an annoyed grunt. These bullets that they use to distract him were getting annoying. He quickly sped to Ren, who got ready to fight, but Ruby then used her Semblance to appear in front of Wolfram, ready to intercept him. Wolfram grinned as he jumped over the horizontal slash that Ruby attempted and passed over her before delivering a nasty kick to Ren's chest that hurled him back quite a distance. He then quickly turned around and punched Ruby who couldn't react in time to block the attack as she was sent back as well.

Oscar then moved behind Wolfram and went to attack him with his stick only for his arm to be caught in Wolfram's firm grip before being lifted up and brought to his eye level.

"Why are you fighting me like this, Ozma?" Wolfram asked. "For one of the greatest sorcerers, you only stay behind and attack me with a walking stick? Out of all of them, you should be the one giving me the most trouble." Oscar said nothing as he nervously looked at the Grimm Lord, his teeth almost clattering in fear. "Wait, you can't use your magic, is that it?" Wolfram asked but received no answer, but he didn't need one. He gave a sigh. "Well, that's disappointing."

Wolfram then quickly turned around and threw Oscar into Jaune who attempted to strike Wolfram from behind but was stopped as Oscar was slammed into him.

Everyone else gathered together, not really in the best shape. Wolfram was incredibly strong, fast, and durable. They were roughed up while he wasn't even scratched yet.

"Perhaps I should just finish this," Wolfram said. "You are beginning to bore me anyway."

Qrow, Ruby, and Ren began firing at him, but Wolfram just grinned and ran towards them, completely ignoring the bullet barrage that was hitting him. Just as he got to them he was suddenly stopped in his tracks, making his eyes wide in surprise. He looked down and saw that the ground below him and his feet were covered in ice. He then looked up and saw that Nora was once again attacking him but this time he didn't react in time and was hit in the face courtesy of her hammer, and was flung to the side with a grunt.

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed in happiness as she looked at her white-haired friend standing there, her rapier plunged into the ground as an ice trail led to it, and a proud look on her face.

"Sorry for the late arrival," Weiss said as she quickly joined the group.

"Doesn't matter," Qrow said. "At least we got a good hit on him."

Wolfram then rose up from the ground with a slight groan. He then rubbed his chin for a bit as there was still a lingering feeling from that hit, but otherwise, he was fine.

"Damn it!" Jaune said. "That didn't really hurt him!"

Ruby looked intently at Wolfram. After Oscar explained what Ozpin's plan was she wasn't sure when was the right time to implement it, or even if she could. But considering how strong he was that seemed to be their best bet.

"Well, that was actually pretty good," Wolfram said with a smile before cracking his neck. "Let's see if you can keep it up."

Just as they were getting ready a sound of a motor engine was heard from the forest, and out of appeared Yang who was driving her bike Bumblebee, and Blake was also sitting on the bike. The two quickly got off the yellow bike and joined the other, Yang preparing Ember Celica and Blake her Gambol Shroud.

"So what did we miss, sis?" Yang asked as she took a battle stance.

"Well, we got discovered by Cordovin but we were soon confronted with the testosterone Salem here and got our asses handed to us," Qrow explained.

Wolfram gave a chuckle as he heard that. "Oh, you're funny," he said. "I just might end up sparing you and making you a jester."

"Gee, thanks," Qrow said.

Blake looked at the downed form of Adam and gave a slight gasp. She was worried about Adam hunting her, but seeing him like that had her even more worried.

"What happened to him?" Blake asked.

"This man just showed up with him beaten up and threw him there," Ren said.

"We all need to work together," Qrow said before turning to Weiss. "Is Maria still on the ship?"

Weiss nodded. "She'll be with us when we get an opportunity to leave."

"Oh please don't leave," Wolfram in a mock sad voice. "The game is still on, and we have more players to play. It would be rude to stop now."

Wolfram then jumped into the air, his fist cocked back as he descended down. The group then scattered to get out of his way, but when his fist impacted the ground it made a shockwave that sent everyone flying, and massively cracking the ground. Qrow, Ren, and Jaune had to stick their blades into the ground so they didn't fall from the cliff but were still left hanging with Qrow grabbing Adam before his unconscious body could fall down.

"You're more trouble then you're worth," Qrow said as he looked at Adam, who gave a weak groan.

Yang grit her teeth and her eyes narrowed before she went for an attack. She sent many punches his way, only for all of them to be blocked by Wolfram, who Yang noticed didn't even bother to counter. Not really liking how he was playing her, she decided to be a bit sneaky.

When she went for another punch, she activated her Ember Celica and shoot one round right into his face as he blocked, staggering him a little. She took several more shot before punching him in the face, though only being able to move his head slightly, before going for another punch which was unfortunately caught by Wolfram who only grinned before kneeing her in the stomach and punching her away.

He then saw Ruby above, readying a strike with her scythe. He went for a punch but felt something wrap around his wrist and pulling on it, seeing it was Blake using her weapon to hold him in place if only briefly. Ruby then slashed his cheek with Crescent Rose, which surprisingly didn't seem to injure him only move his head.

Wolfram then kicked Ruby away before pulling on the rope of Gambol Shroud and forcing Blake to fly at him before he delivered a kick that threw her to the side. He then caught Nora's hammer and backhanded her away.

Yang then once again went to attack, her eyes red as a fiery aura surrounded her. She once again began punching him, her punches even stronger than before, but that didn't seem to change much as he once again blocked her attacks.

Before she could land another punch, Wolfram's hand was suddenly wrapped around her throat. Her hands quickly went to pry off the hand holding her, but it barely budged as she picked off the ground, seeing the smiling face of Wolfram.

"While I do enjoy a good brawl," he said. "All things must come to an end."

Ruby then used her Semblance to attack him from behind, trying to use his fixation on Yang as an opportunity to free her sister, but Wolfram put his other behind him and grasped her by the throat as well.

Yang growled as she glared at Wolfram. "Let her go, or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Wolfram said before chuckling. "Act brave all you like, but as you are now you can't do anything." He then turned to Ruby. "And you, this one is your sister, right? Well, you don't worry have to worry about her wellbeing. I guess I'll _keep_ her."

Ruby then also glared as she tried to pry off his hand, but his grip was too strong. She wasn't going to let him get away with whatever he was planning for her sister. She had no choice, there was only a single thing left to do.

Ruby then closed her eyes. 'Please, work. I really need it right now."

Wolfram raised an eyebrow, not sure what she was doing. "And just what are you-?"

Ruby's eyes then suddenly opened, shinning with an incredibly bright white light as two wings of the same brightness shot out from her eyes to the sides. Wolfram gained a look of complete surprise as there was a sudden burst of light spread, making everyone cover their eyes.

Wolfram let go of the two sisters as he was hit with the full power of the blast. Yang and Ruby coughed as they rubbed their throats. Qrow, Ren, and Jaune got up from their predicament and along with everyone else was met with an interesting sight.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Wolfram shrieked as his hands went to his head, some smoke rising from where his head and hands were located. "MY EYES!" He gave out several animalistic roars and growls while he covered his face.

Oscar looked at the scene. "It worked," he whispered as he watched Wolfram yell out in pain. Ozpin did tell him that the Silver Eyes should work on him since it's a weakness to Grimm, and Oscar would have smiled at the success but for some reason, he didn't want to.

Qrow chuckled at the sight. "Looks like we finally got one on him."

Wolfram continued growling, some blood beginning to drip from the hands that covered his face. He took them off for a moment to show blood dripping down his tightly shut eyes, some burns also present on his.

"You little brat!" he yelled in anger as his sharp teeth showed. "I promise you, Red, when I get my hands on you I'll DEVOUR YOU!"

"Like hell, you will!" Yang exclaimed before she once again burst into flames and started punching him. He was able to block initially but Qrow and Ren began shooting at him, which distracted him enough for Yang to land a few more solid hits.

Oscar decided to be of at least a little help so he struck Wolfram at his side, making him slightly grunt before Yang delivered a mighty punch to his face, making him stumble back. Jaune then ran up to him and crouched near his legs with his shied pointed towards the Grimm Lord. Once Wolfram stumbled back into the shield he lost his balance before Jaune pushed forward, using the huge man's own momentum against him and making him fall on the ground.

Then an Atlesian airship flies next to the cliff as Maria talks into the speaker.

"Hurry, all of you! We don't have much time! Cordovin is back at her feet!"

The group looked to the side to see the Colossus dangerously close to them.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Cordovin says from her mech as she points the arm cannon at them, preparing to fire lighting dust.

The rest quickly got a move on and ran into the airship, Qrow once again being the one to carry Adam, before the doors of the airship quickly closed.

Wolfram let out a few more grunts and he slowly rose. His eyes then opened before completely widening as he saw the robot from before beginning to fire something. Cordovin then shot a huge blast of lightning that completely engulfed Wolfram while the airship flew off.

"Oh, no! You will not escape!" she exclaimed before readying to fire another blast.

_"__Special Operative Cordovin! We have an emergency!" _an officer called from her comm.

"Ergh! What is it?!" she asked frustratingly.

_"__A large Grimm appeared near Argus! We need the Colossus to deal with it!"_

Cordovin let out an annoyed grunt as she glared at the retreating airship. As much as she wanted to blow it to pieces, she knew the people of Argus needed her. She turned to the Colossus and quickly retreated back to Argus.

* * *

Qrow looked through the window of the airship. "Well, she's retreating. Looks like luck is on our side this time."

Oscar's gaze was locked on the cliff where they fought Wolfram, but there was no sign of the Grimm Lord anywhere.

_"__I know what you're thinking," _Ozpin said. _"But no, he isn't dead. Trust me, I have enough experience with him to know."_

_"__So he'll come back?"_

_"__Definitely. However, you don't have to worry about him as much as Salem. Unlike her, he is immortal in the sense that he has longevity, and he can be killed. But as you saw that task isn't an easy one."_

"Is everyone alright there?" Maria asked.

"We're fine," Qrow said before pointing at Adam was laid with his back to the wall. "Though, we did get an extra passenger."

Blake couldn't help but stare at the downed form of her former comrade and lover. She still remembered all the betrayals and hardships he caused, and he no doubt came after her, but still to see him so beaten up, especially now that his mask was off and the branding over his eye showed.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that it was Yang.

"Are you alright?" the blonde woman asked.

"I'm fine, it's just…" she began. "What will we do with him?"

"The most logical course of action is to tie him up," Ren said. "After that, we'll give him over to the authorities."

Blake gave a nod, though she still wasn't comfortable with that decision, especially since she knew about the views of the Faunus that the people in Atlas had.

"Well, without his weapon, not to mention a broken leg from what I can see, he isn't much of a threat," Qrow commented before taking a swing from his flask. "God, I needed that. But we better not leave anything to chance."

Qrow then walked over to his youngest niece and gave her a one-armed hug. "Thanks, Rubes. We owe you a lot for what you did."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Please, uncle Qrow, you know it's just something I do. You don't owe me anything."

Qrow shrugged. "Still, thank you."

* * *

A clawed white hand shot from out of the water and grabbed onto a rock near the Cliffside as Wolfram rose from the water with a gasp for air. He rubbed his eyes and blinked away any blurriness left in his vision.

"Damn that girl," he said as he grit his teeth and clenched his fist. "When I get my hands on her I'll…"

He took a deep sigh to calm himself.

He had to admit that was quite a turn of events, one that he definitely didn't expect. The power that the silver-eyed girl possessed caught him by surprise. It wasn't often that someone was able to hurt him the way she did.

Even so, now he has seen what these people were capable of and besides the sudden burst of light magic, he had his fun with them.

He then turned his head and watched as what he presumed to be the craft they were on go away.

"At least Salem can't complain about me ruining her plans," he said before grabbing onto the side of the cliff, his fingers digging into the rock as he began climbing up.

Now he just needed to see what will happen next. He definitely wasn't done with them.

* * *

**AN: And that is it for now! This chapter was mostly a fight scene, so I hope I didn't screw it up. And I'm not sure how the power of the Silver Eyes would work on someone like Salem, will it be really effective or completely ineffective, and the show may as well end up contradicting me on that but I hope that I made it sensible.**

**On another note, check out my other stories, they are worth it, trust me. And I please leave a review, they are great motivators.**

**See you next time!**


	5. 5 Our Grimm Destiny

The Lords of Grimm

**AN: Hello there, my dear readers! Well, with Volume 8 on the horizon, I thought I would give a little update on the story. I cannot wait to see what happens in the following RWBY episodes. I hope you do too.**

**Now to reviews.**

**MadTitan9: Oh? Well, aren't you dark? But I honestly didn't think that it would be the right time to kill anyone just yet.**

**Hmason: Yeah, I know. But the reason I had that fight was to demonstrate what Wolfram is capable of, and considering that the only reason he lost was to special circumstances I'm pretty sure it's clear. But don't worry, I won't have people just miraculously survive encounters with him.**

* * *

5 Our Grimm Destiny

* * *

After the fight with the Grimm Lord was over, Cordovin then went to take care of the giant Leviathan Grimm that went to attack the town, and it was eventually destroyed by her with the help of her military. The civil unrest was calmed down eventually as the Atlas troops went back to their regular posts.

With an uneasy step, Saphron Cotta-Arc walked through the streets of Argus along with her wife Terra and their son Adrian in her arms, the baby currently snoozing. Her mind was still on her little brother, wondering if he was hurt. From what she heard, there was a massive fight in their escape attempt, and she currently couldn't reach him to see if he was alright.

Terra noticed the uneasiness that Saphron held, and she knew why it was there. "Calm down," Terra said as she took Saphron's hand. "They made it out, and they are on their way."

The Arc woman looked at her wife's brown eyes with blue ones. "I know that, but I would at least know if they are all fine."

Terra sighed. "Trust me, so do I," she said. "But you know that our calls can be tracked and if they catch us-"

"Yes, yes, no need to remind me," Saphron said. "But I'm still Jaune's big sister, and I helped to get him into such trouble."

"There is nothing we can do about it now," Terra said as she gave their baby a slight rub on the back. "We have other things to worry about, and Jaune is grown up. So please, instead of being a sister, be a mother right now. That is currently more important."

Saphron was silent for a moment before giving a nod. Terra was right, now was the time to focus on their baby. Jaune can take care of himself… At least she hoped he could.

Then her ears perked up and she turned backward, though she saw nobody else there, the street they were in being mostly empty.

"What's wrong?" Terra asked with a raised eyebrow.

Saphron shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm probably just being paranoid," she said before she resumed the walk with her family.

On top of a building, Wolfram looked down upon the two women walking. After he got away from that cliff he decided to go back to Argus to do some investigation. He followed his nose to find out where the highest concentration of scents from those brats was gathered. He needed to keep a low profile so he wouldn't be caught by the military, otherwise, he would make more frequent use of the Grimm.

He was eventually led to a house belonging to these two women, the combination of the scents being the strongest there. When Wolfram saw the resemblance between Saphron and the kid with the sword and shield, he immediately knew the connection. But he was still surprised by something. Two women? Married? That is definitely something you wouldn't see from when he was from.

Regardless, Wolfram saw an opportunity he had with this. Some would assume that he would take out his revenge by killing them, but he wasn't that simple-minded. No, he would save those three for later. He just needed to wait for the right time.

But now he needed to go back to Salem. She would definitely want to hear what he's been doing. Good thing that he was fast and he pretty much never got tired, just some things that made not regret leaving his humanity behind.

* * *

Back at the ship, Adam was slowly waking up. He groaned as he felt his body in pain. Trying to remember what happened, he recalled the fight he had with Wolfram. If that could even be called a fight. Adam gave his all but that man either easily avoided the attacks or not even flinch when struck. And when he struck back, it didn't last long at all.

Blinking the haziness from his eyes, he noticed where he was, a familiar sight. His eyes widened as he recognized the interior of an Atlasean ship. He tried to move but saw that his arms were bound by some black rope.

'No! No, not again!' Adam thought frantically as his mind came back to the past, back when he and many other faunus were taken in by Atlas into forceful labor, and all the hours of pain and torture he endured. The branding on his eye began to hurt again.

"Adam?" the moment the soft voice reached his ears he gained a raging expression before turning to the one who called. Blake.

"You!" he growled out and tried to get up but a sharp pain ran across his right leg, and then he remembered that in his fight with Wolfram he was grabbed by the leg and the Grimm Lord tightened his grip until bone broke.

"So, is the sleeping beauty awake?" Qrow asked as he looked back from the passenger seat.

Adam then saw several others, some he recognized from before, like Yang Xiao Long who glared at him. And one of them being Weiss Schnee.

"Adam, please calm down," Blake tried to reason with her former colleague, despite all the things he had done.

"Calm down? Is that a joke?" he asked harshly. Adam then let out a laugh that made everyone feel a bit unnerved. "Of course fate has to play one final joke. Not only did I lose everything, not only was I utterly humiliated; now I will be brought back to Atlas by you of all people. Well, I hope you are happy now."

"Adam, listen to me," Blake said. "You won't be sent to the Schnee Dust Company, not this time." Her face then became stern. "But after everything you did, you will be sent to prison in Mantle. General Ironwood is a fair man so you don't need to expect him to be bigoted towards you."

Adam scoffed. "You really think that? Do you really think that I will be brought to any proper justice? No, Blake. The moment we get there I will be brought back, forced to work until I drop dead. Or what?" he turned to Weiss. "Is your Schnee friend going to pull some strings for me? Heh, I doubt it."

Yang gritted her teeth and walked closer. "I think it was better when he was knocked out," she said before pulling her arm back, ready to pay him back for the one he cut off.

Her arm then was then grabbed by Blake. "No, I won't silence him," she said sternly. Yang gave her a shocked look for a moment before putting her arm down and nodding. "Listen, Adam. You betrayed our cause; you turned the White Fang into exactly what humans accused us of. And for what? To make yourself feel strong?" Blake closed her eyes before turning away. "Maybe you do deserve all that you get. But at least I'll make sure that you don't end up working in the mines."

Blake then took a seat next to Ren and Nora, her arms crossed. Yang glared at Adam one last time before joining her friend.

The former White Fang leader was silent the whole while as his gaze never calmed before turning back and leaning back into the corner where he was located. To him, he couldn't fall any lower than this.

Weiss looked back at the bull faunus, and couldn't help but feel guilty. The brand he had over his eye was all she needed to see to know how he turned out like this. She began reflecting back, remembering how she herself didn't view the faunus in a very positive light. Maybe she could have helped people like Adam from their unfair treatment. At least in some way.

So she decided that she would help Blake in whatever means she could. She would make sure that Adam got some proper justice.

* * *

Wolfram was back at the Land of Darkness, just walking through the halls of the castle. He had to admit, every time he came back here a wave of nostalgia washed over him, remembering the beginning of how he became someone who actually mattered in the world.

He remembered the God of Darkness changing his life, after which Wolfram decided to spend the rest of his days conquering the lands, and bringing even more power to him. Because in the end, that's all that mattered.

Power.

Power is what makes the world function. Power is what made people truly matter. Everyone, even his own father craved it, for whatever purpose they wish to fulfill. And he achieved more power than any mortal could hope to have.

He remembered being pleased with seeing so many people shocked to see a dark lord with many monsters under his command suddenly arrive. He remembered his father begging as he crushed his skull in his hands, and taking his father's castle as his very own but under his terms. So he became known throughout the world as a monster, a scourge on humanity, a Lord of Darkness, and he reveled in all those titles.

Yet, something was still missing in his life. Companionship. After so many years of conquest, there was certain loneliness that followed him. He tried to be with some women but he got bored of them quickly, none of possessing the proper power he desired in a woman.

Then Wolfram later heard of a woman that was held in a castle by her father, one that possessed great affinity in magic. He thought it interesting, as he heard that her father was an incredibly powerful warrior, a legend in all sense of the word. He decided to give it a try and see if that woman was worth the trouble, only to be later disappointed when he found out that the woman was rescued by some man named Ozma, who is supposed to be an incredibly powerful individual in his own right.

But he wasn't about to give up on her. No, he was still going to take the woman as his own. This led to a conflict that eventually brought out Ozma and the woman Wolfram desired, Salem. But he was also shocked to find out that Ozma was a student of Huntar, who wasn't at the castle when Wolfram conquered it much to his shock.

Still, eager to test them out, he fought against Salem and Ozma, and they didn't disappoint, Salem especially. She proved her worth to him, and he knew that she was the right one. It was unfortunate that Huntar ended up sealing him away.

And now, as he walked through the castle and hearing what became of Salem, he was utterly convinced that she was the right one. Her power rivaled his, she was even more beautiful than before, an immortal like he was, and they held a worldview where ruling over humanity is the only proper way of having anything done right. She may not want him now, but he knew her defenses will crumble eventually.

So right now, he entered the throneroom, with Salem sitting on the throne in a relaxed position.

"So you're back," Salem said as she rose. "Was your little trip fun?"

"It most certainly was," he said with a smile. "Though not in a way I thought it was going to be I have to admit."

Salem raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked and he proceeded to explain what happened. "Oh, I see. So you lost."

"Only in a technical sense, my dear Salem. You know that none of them could actually pose a threat to me," Wolfram defended his position. "Though, you could have told me about those Silver Eyes. I could have at least taken one of them down if it wasn't for that."

Salem shrugged. "It must have slipped my mind," she said dismissively. "But that doesn't matter now. Watts and Tyrian have been sent to enact our plan. And it will soon be time to move our forces to attack the kingdom of Atlas."

Wolfram couldn't help but grin. "Oh, I cannot wait. It will be just like the good old days when I led my Grimm horde," he said before walking behind Salem, the witch keeping an eye on him the entire time. "But this time, I will have you at my side." His hands went to her hips, surprising her before she moved away from him.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"And what does it look like?" he asked as he approached her again. "Come on, Salem. You have to see that were made for each other. Please, I ask you as I did before. Become my queen, and let the lords of Grimm be fully united so we can truly rule this world together."

Salem only stared at him, unsure what to say at first. After what happened with Ozma she never went to find love, mostly because with the way she was who could have. But Wolfram actually presented an opportunity to be with someone like her, despite the differences in their character. Still, there was something holding her back.

"I'll… think about it," Salem said before walking away.

"And what is there to think about?" Wolfram asked, stopping her. "Be honest with yourself. Who else do you have?"

She looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, who else is there like us in this world? Salem, we were meant to be. We are the most powerful beings on the planet, and we are immortal. Once the conquering is done we will only each other to confide in as everyone else dies around us. And you know that you can't just throw someone into the pool to make them like us, we were special cases."

He then once again approached her before grabbing her chin. "What are-" she was about to ask but was interrupted as he gave her a kiss on the lips, making her eyes go wide.

Wolfram then ended the kiss with a satisfied look on his face. "Sorry, I couldn't resist," he said before walking past. "I'm pretty sure the answer is obvious, but I'll let you think about it. I can be patient; we have an eternity after all." When he was at the door he gave Salem one last glance. "I eagerly await your answer." He then walked out of the throneroom, leaving a confused Salem behind.

After a few moments, Salem shook her head. His forwardness really caught her off guard. She knew that he would make things more complicated but she didn't expect something like that.

But she couldn't think of that now, she had other matters to attend to. She just hoped they could clear her head a bit.

* * *

**AN: And that is it for now! There wasn't any action in here, but after a whole chapter of nothing but fighting all of us need a bit of breather, don't we? Still, I hope you enjoyed the character interactions nonetheless.**

**I also implore you to check out my other stories, trust me they are worth it. And leave a review, they are great motivators.**

**See you next time!**


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